Because it is all about content, isn't it?

So this is me, writing an article on a blog and site that is not even live yet. Oh well, life happens 24 hours a day every day.

I thought it would be fitting to start off the new blog with an old image that was very well received over a few years.

As I am working on this new site I am sad to leave the old site behind me. My plan is to bring all the old good stuff and favourites over into the new site. I trust it will come across as more contemporary too. It definitely is a much more efficient environment for me to tinker with.

It has been a long time since I got out there often enough to hunt some decent images but this has now changed. Most of my recent photography was underwater too. Algoa Bay has amazing world class diving but conditions can be challenging. A dive does not guarantee usable images or video footage. Having been in retail for a few recent years also had me working and missing many nice opportunities. I also have this mountain bike race coming up soon.

The focus with the old site was the display and sale of landscape prints. The new site is a more comprehensive broad spectrum approach to who and what I am and have to offer.

I needed a site that shows my work. All facets of my work. I needed to be able to make alterations to the site too. They could be minor cosmetic changes. They could also be complex additions or functionalities. I am not a skilled web designer. When I wanted a change I wanted it five minutes ago. I want it to look good and professionally done too. People do not want to wait a week in the times we live in. Things have a way of losing impact that way.

I am also a photographer and not a copy writer. Thing is, many skills make up the cocktail of successful marketing but photography is what I do. Learning the fine art of good copy writing is essential but it takes me away from my primary activities.

Of course it also has to look presentable. It needs a contemporary feel. If it does not, I run the risk of losing the interest of my audience. That I do not want.

One more benefit is the ease with which I can now present a broader variety of content. Some of you may have noticed that I do not live on the edge of the Grand Canyon. I do not live on the Great Barrier Reef either. This places limitations on the landscapes I can photograph and present.

Traveling to nice locations plays a small role, of course. The weather fairies do not sync their diaries with my schedule either. Now this might sound like I am griping a bit but that is not the case. It does make it so much more rewarding to come home with some pleasing useful images though.

So here is the plan. I will be sharing more info about al the other facets of my commercial photography. This will now happen more often and with greater ease.

I am also planning to incorporate other services I offer. I have over 20 years experience as a forensic fingerprint expert. The idea here is using this site as a platform to market those skills and services.

I can share ideas, images and information about other activities of my life. I can connect with people who are not photographers. I could even write articles about items I use and own and help others with that.

When I bought my first expedition tent I spent hours scouring the web. The useful information I found was rather insignificant. If I could publish one review that would help one other person it would have been worth the time I spent doing it.

So...great plans and some promising prospects for the next few weeks and months. Will it all work exactly as planned? There is no way to know now. All I can do is to dive in at the deep end and keep swimming.

We all need to LIVE and not merely exist. Brace yourselves for mountain biking chat of the endurance and cross country type. Brace yourselves for diving chat. If all goes well I will be sharing more images than you can handle. Photography is what puts bread on my table but balance in life is quite important too.

Until then I have some things to take care of. I will spare you the geek-speak. Let's simply say it involves lots and lots of time on a chair facing a screen.

I will see you all on the other side of worthwhile progress. Please enjoy the journey with me. I would appreciate hearing what works and what does not.

Take care!

Anton